Duke-bound R.J. Barrett, new wave of Canadian basketball talent poised for future NBA Drafts

By ADAM ZAGORIA

Kevin Boyle knows a thing or two about sending players to the NBA Draft lottery.

The Montverde (FL) Academy head man has coached five players selected among the top three picks of recent NBA Drafts, including No. 1 picks Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving, No. 2 picks D’Angelo Russell and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and No. 3 pick Joel Embiid. That is as many as Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and more than Kentucky’s John Calipari or Kansas’ Bill Self during that span, as I wrote in this Bleacher Report story.

Simmons and Irving were both born in Australia, while Embiid is originally from Cameroon.

From Kyrie to Embiid to Simmons, Kevin Boyle is the high school coach who creates NBA stars https://t.co/My3EKynWnL pic.twitter.com/2ZRCO0f3Aj

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 22, 2018

In the coming years, several of Boyle’s current and former  pupils could hear their names called by Commissioner Adam Silver.

And what those players have in common is that they’re all from Canada.

R.J. Barrett, a 6-foot-7 senior wing who came to Montverde from Mississauga, Ontario, is projected by multiple mock draft sites to be the No. 1 pick in 2019. He signed with Duke over Kentucky and Oregon in November.

“He’s right in that class [with the other top picks I have coached],” Boyle said of Barrett on The 4 Quarters Podcast. “Most of the guys [who become superstars] are all those wing guys that end up better in these drafts over the years. That’s why I’m saying he should be the No. 1 pick in two years.”

The #FIBAU19 2017 MVP Award offered by Tissot goes to @RjBarrett6 of @CanBball ??! Congratulations Champ ??? pic.twitter.com/J0NBIrDUUu

— FIBA (@FIBA) July 9, 2017

Meantime, Andrew Nembhard, the 6-4 Canadian point guard who shares the backcourt with Barrett both at Montverde and with the UPlay Canada AAU program, also projects as a future NBA guard, Boyle said.

“He’s a great player and person,” Boyle said when Nembhard committed to Florida. “Andrew will be a four-year starter and will be mid-to-late 1st round pick. He makes every player and person he touches better.”

Meantime, several other Canadians are mentioned on 2018 and 19′ mocks.

Kentucky freshman guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is projected at No. 19 in 2018 in the latest ESPN mock. After American Kevin Knox, he is the second-highest projected player on the Kentucky roster.

Matur Maker, who was born in the Sudan but now plays for Mississauga Prep in Canada, is projected at No. 53 in 2018. He is the younger brother of Milwaukee Bucks forward/center Thon Maker.

Looking ahead to 2019,  Nickeil Alexander-Walker, a freshman guard at Virginia Tech and the cousin of Gilgeous-Alexander, is projected at No. 17 by ESPN. He has drawn comparisons to a young Paul George.

Both cousins played together at Hamilton Heights (TN).

Syracuse freshman forward Oshae Brissett , another Canadian, is projected at No. 20 in 2019

Last February, seven Canadians were invited to the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp during the NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans. Barrett was named MVP of the event, while Nembhard, Vanderbilt-bound forward Simi Shittu and current Arizona freshman guard Emmanuel Akot all attended, as did Arizona-State-bound guard Lugentz Dort of Orangeville Prep, Michigan-bound shooting guard Iggy Brazdeikis of Athlete Institute and Harvard-bound shooting guard Noah Kirkwood of Northfield Mount Hermon (MA).

In the next few years, this wave of players figures to enter the NBA and join fellow Canadians like Andrew Wiggins, the former No. 1 overall pick now with the Minnesota Timberwolves, as well as Tristan Thompson (Cleveland), Jamal Murray (Denver), Kelly Olynyk (Miami), Cory Joseph (Toronto), Tyler Ennis (Lakers) and others.

That also bodes well for the Canadian National Team going forward. Led by Barrett, the Canadians won their first-ever gold medal in an Olympics or World Cup when they won the FIBU U19 World Championship this summer in Egypt.

“You’re seeing that we have players and we can win,” Barrett told me in July. “We can beat the U.S. Just a statement that we’re working really hard and we’re up and coming.

As for a future Olympic gold-medal bid, he added: “I mean, we still got a lot of work to do before that happens but for sure to play on an Olympic team would be great.”

Photo: Mustafa Hooten

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter

And like ZAGS on Facebook